Today the River Blyth enters the sea between Southwold and Walberswick. Go back four centuries Dunwich was at the mouth of the river. The estuary widens out into a wide shallow pool at Blythburgh before making its way inland to Halesworth.

Below is an extract from Smuggling in the British Isles: a History by Richard Platt For more detail visit his website www.smuggling.co.uk

Waterways of all descriptions provided routes for smuggled cargoes to move inland, and the Blyth served the purpose well. Dunwich, close to the river's mouth, was a popular landing spot, and at Blythburgh in the roof of the White Hart there is a small window looking across the marsh — a convenient place to put a light as a signal to the string of small boats ferrying goods onward to their customers. A couple of miles upstream Blyford made a convenient stopping-off point for the kegs of brandy as they moved onwards: the Queen's Head was noted for many smuggling associations, and contraband was stored in a recess above the fireplace. Another hiding place in the village was the church across the road, where the pews and altar were used for concealment, but St Andrew's Church at Westhall some three miles to the north provided an even better-kept secret: kegs were hidden in the valley roof, between the two ridges.

Click here for more information on the history of smuggling in Suffolk.